Resources

Books on Writing

The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community

by Diana Pavlac Gyler

“The writing life can be an emotional roller coaster ride . . . For writers in particular one of the most valuable resources in the midst of all these challengers is the presence of resonators.”

Bird by Bird

by Anne Lamott

“Being a writer guarantees that you will spend too much time alone—and that as a result, your mind will begin to warp . . .Theoretically I could do it alone, but it sure makes it easier to have people helping.”

How I Write

by Janet Evanovich

“1st, we are not quitters. 2nd, and? This happens to me everyday (wanting to give up). Concentrate. Have patience. Make it work. And move on!”

On Writing

by Stephen King

“Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction, can be a difficult lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt . . . Let your hope of success (and fear of failure) carry you on, difficult as that may be.”

Creative Writing: For People Who Can’t Not Write

Kathryn Lindskoog

“Creative writing is much like gardening. It takes hard work, but hard work alone can never produce the flowers and fruit. There is a mysterious kind of germination that takes place. A writer named G.C. Lichtenberg summed it up this way in 1799. ‘There is something in our minds like sunshine and the weather, which is not under our control. When I write, the best things come to me from I know not where.’ All we have to do is prepare, cooperate, and then enjoy the fruits and lowers when they come.”

Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories

by C.S. Lewis

“On stories,” “On three Ways of Writing for Children,” “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s To Be Said,” “Criticism,” and more

Additional Resources

Beth Moore’s study Living Beyond Yourself

“There is life after rejection. Rejection colors everything we see. No way to live today. Take off the dark tent of rejection . . . How would you know the value of precious if you hadn’t been rejected.”